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The Bridgeport Rental and Oil Services (BROS) Superfund site is a 30-acre parcel of land in Logan Township, NJ. The BROS site was used as a waste oil storage and recovery facility from 1960 to 1981. The main site property included a 13-acre waste lagoon and a tank farm with over 100 vessels. Initial estimates indicated that the lagoon contained approximately 2.5 million gallons of oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 80,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments and sludge, and 70 million gallons of contaminated wastewater. The waste lagoon breached its dike in the early 1970s, causing widespread vegetative damage to the adjacent wetlands. Groundwater was contaminated by leakage/releases from the waste lagoon. The groundwater contamination extends over one mile from the site in a southeasterly direction.

EPA’s Involvement

The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List of the country’s most contaminated sites in 1983 and a Record of Decision (ROD) was signed in 1984 selecting a remedy for the site. The ROD called for the cleanup of the waste oil lagoon, removal of the tank farm, and installation of an alternative water supply to nearby homes, along with the implementation of a study to determine the appropriate groundwater and wetlands remedies. In 1997, a Consent Decree settlement was signed with a group of private parties to reimburse EPA for past costs and to develop and implement the resultant groundwater and wetlands remedies under EPA supervision. A second Record of Decision was signed in 2006 selecting a remedy for contaminated soils, wetlands, and shallow and deep groundwater.

Cleanup Progress

Several Emergency Response Actions were taken by EPA between 1981 and 1984 to reinforce the failing lagoon dike and to lower the height of the waste lagoon to prevent further contamination. Tank farm waste and debris were taken to EPA-approved disposal facilities in the late 1980s. Cleanup of the waste lagoon began in November 1991 and was completed in January 1996. Over 15,000 tons of drummed waste and debris were removed from the 13-acre waste lagoon and nearly 200 million gallons of lagoon wastewater was treated and discharged to Little Timber Creek. Over 80,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment and sludge were excavated from the waste lagoon.

The wetlands remedy selected in the 2006 ROD called for the excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated wetlands sediments and the use of a Reactive Core Mat to prevent further migration of contaminants to clean soil and surface water. The wetlands cleanup began in July 2009 and majority of the wetlands remediation work has been completed, with only a few final close-out tasks remaining. Over 16,850 cubic yards of contaminated sediment were excavated from Little Timber Creek Swamp and replaced with clean backfill and topsoil after the installation of a sorptive “reactive core mat” or geotextile layer. The reactive core mat, also known as RCM, is an innovative water permeable membrane packed with organoclay to absorb any residual contamination. Following the placement of clean backfill and topsoil, a restoration plan was implemented to replace invasive vegetation with a more diverse emergent, scrub-shrub, and forested wetland community. Wetlands restoration activities are expected to continue for several more years and a long-term wetlands monitoring program will be conducted to ensure a fully successful restoration.

The 2006 ROD called for the use of an innovative vacuum-extraction technology known as bioslurping to recover light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL)/oil from shallow groundwater. Pilot studies were conducted to demonstrate the ability of bioslurping to recover LNAPL/oil and to collect data needed to complete the final design of the bioslurping system. The pilot study results revealed that additional areas should be evaluated for shallow groundwater contamination and the most effective recovery system will utilize a combination of bioslurping and an alternative recovery system. The final design of the bioslurping system is expected in 2011.

The deep groundwater remedy selected in the 2006 ROD included both the pumping of deep groundwater and in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) processes. The first of two pilot treatability studies to support the deep groundwater treatment plant design was completed in December 2010. After finishing the remaining pilot studies, the results will be used to complete the remedial design of the deep groundwater treatment plant and the ISCO system. The operation of the deep groundwater treatment system, including the in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) process will be ongoing for a number of years. ISCO involves the injection of a chemical oxidant into deep groundwater to transform contaminants into less harmful chemical substances.